Albert Edward Butcher was the 11th Child of Wilhelm and Wilhelmina Bottcher. He was born on 9 November 1902 at the family home at 8 Campbell St Alexandria, New South Wales. You would have noticed that this is the third variation of the children s surnames. It all stemmed down to the pronunciation of the German Name Bottcher. It is pronounced "Burcher", But in the case of Albert, the midwife's handwriting was very bad and his surname was transcribed as "Butcher".
Albert was 17 months old in 1904 when his mother died and 7 years old when his father remarried. Albert lived with his father and his stepmother Adelaide Foran till he was 15 years old. He then went to live with his sisters Rita and Minnie at Newtown. He was fond of Adelaide and kept in touch with her after his father's death in 1928. He also lived for a short time with his sister Mary, as just about all of his siblings did at one time or another.
Albert's daughter Joyce recalls that her Aunty Rita said Albert was very good looking, tall and blond. He loved swimming, he used to swim at the Domain baths where a friendship was formed with Andrew (boy) Charlton, the Olympic champion. Andrew was younger then my dad, my father became his team mate at the baths and often beat him when he swam against him."
When he was younger, Albert worked for Fowler's Potteries, which was one of the most successful business's of it's kind. The 6.9 hectare site in Fitzroy St Marrickville employed 400 people for over 40 years.
Albert was living at Alexandria when he married Gladys Rose Kirkwood, daughter of Hilda Rose Davis and Alexander Kirkwood on 10 November 1923. It was one day after his 21st Birthday. They were married in St Pauls Church of England, Redfern, New South Wales. It was the same church that Alberts sister Mary was married in 23 years previously, exactly to the day on the 10th November.
After Gladys and Albert were married, he started working with his Father-in-Law Alexander Kirkwood, who was a Master painter. He took Albert under his wing and taught him painting, paper hanging and decorating. Together, they worked on a number of Sydney's theaters, one being the Capital Theater at Haymarket, Sydney, New South Wales.
The depression years were very hard and they often had to go to the country to find work. Albert later got work with Sargents, the pastry cooks, pie/tea room family. He did the painting and decorating in their cafes, and factory. He was with them for many years, until he retired at the age of 69 in 1971, the same year that his son Albert died.
His daughter Joyce recalls "Dad was a quietman, gentle in nature, a Christian. We often had musical evenings in our home, Dad playing the Banjo and mouth organ, mum played the violin and sang. Mum sand soprano, something in the style of Gladys Moncrieff (a well known Australian singer of the 1920s to 1950s). Mum use to have singing lessons with one of her cousins when she was in her teens. My brother Albert played the oboe and the clarinet. We had good times together.
Dad loved to got to the football matches, he was a St George fan. He was a good husband, father and grandfather. He was a member of the Bankstown rifle club and won the Gibson cup in 1928, as well as many other awards over the years. He loved his family very much, his sisters and brothers and his father meant the world to him".
Albert Edward Butcher died on the 12 September 1977, two months before his 74th Birthday.

Married - 10 Nov 1923 - St Pauls Church of England, Redfern, New South Wales, Australia

Died - 12 Sep 1977 - Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Funeral Service - Albert Edward Butcher, funeral service held at 3.10pm, Wednesday 14 September 1977 at the Crematorium, Woronora General Cemetery and Crematorium, Sutherland, New South Wales, Australia - 14 Sep 1977 - Crematorium, Woronora General Cemetery and Crematorium